Love Hina: After The Story Ends
by Tarauka-Sosuro
Summary: A continuation of the series, picking up after the end of Love Hina Again. Naru, Keitaro and Mutsumi are in their first year at Tokyo U, and Naru has brought a new face to Hinata; but she notices someone that nobody else cares to... what will happen?
1. I: A New Face

Love Hina: After The Story Ends Chapter One  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina.  
  
This fic has a rating of R (just in case), which is reserved for possible future language, drug references, and detailed sexual situations.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
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Okay, so not everything goes as planned. Nobody ever said life was easy... that was the phrase. But Kentaro just couldn't seem to convince himself that it was just life that kept him from being happy.   
He'd been working for Haruka ever since he'd run his father's expensive prototype vehicle through the Hinata apartment floor in an attempt to impress Naru. Obviously, that hadn't worked out too well, just like most of his other schemes to impress girls. Instead, somehow, Naru had ended up with Keitaro. Of course, before it actually happened he'd given up on Naru. He spent hours, money, his reputation and entrepreneurship on her and she never gave a good god damn... so he did one last thing for her- coaxed Keitaro into going for her. Why, he'd never know.   
Not that he hated Keitaro for any reason, he just couldn't understand how even a guy like Urashima could get a girl and he couldn't. He held his only flaw at being possibly overworked for his amount of pay. But a busy work schedule didn't mean he had no time! Maybe it was that he barely had a social life any longer. Nobody other than Haruka paid attention to him except for Shirai and Haitani, and he tried to stay away from their harebrained plans for luring women and living the great life. He was out of high school now, and he had a job, had his own small house, thankfully near Hinata, that his dad had bought him, along with his car, for graduation.   
The car. What a beautiful car. It was a Masda- not the most expensive car company around, but it was top-notch; a six cylinder turbo, little two-door red convertible sports car. The stereotypical high school grad's dream car.   
But he never drove it any more, except to go buy shopping or something like that. He walked to work, the apartments were only six blocks away and he usually enjoyed the fresh air and mild exercise. It was one of the few times he was content to enjoy what life held for him in the moment; just him, straggling along, kicking a rock or something... nobody around bothering him or ignoring him. It wasn't that life had thrown him any sort of curve ball, and he certainly wasn't going to complain, he was better off than some kids his age... he just felt like there should be something more. Or, at least, that's the way he WANTED to reason it.   
This particular morning, ten 'o clock on a Wednesday, was cool but sunny. It was supposed to get much hotter later in the day, however, so he'd dressed in khaki shorts and shirts in two layers which he could take off, if need be.   
Technically he'd repaid his debt by now, even done the work re-flooring himself. He'd stayed at an agreement with Haruka and Keitaro- hiring Kentaro on permanently (and paying him a legal salary) left Keitaro more time to manage money and study for his classes at Tokyo U. He couldn't say he wasn't content with it, he rather liked the job. Why he wanted to hang around, he didn't know. He supposed it was a better job than any store, franchise, office or restaurant could offer. At least he liked all the people he worked around. Pretty girls... even if they didn't pay attention to him, all the people at Hinata were good people. Besides, he had nothing else to do with his time. It was a lax equilibrium... he went to work doing Keitaro's old busybody chores, and he got free meals if here were there when dinner was served. He brought home enough money to provide for himself and his home. Modest, possibly quaint, but enough. To live financially, anyways. To _really_ live, however, was a concept which Kentaro knew had an entirely different meaning.   
He trotted up the front steps to Hinata, whistling some tune that had been playing on the radio in his kitchen earlier that morning. He hung his windbreaker on the coat rack by the door, and went to the kitchen to get his apron, as was ingrained in his mind. Nobody was around at the moment- everyone except possibly Kitsune or Motoko was out at school, most likely. Even Haruka- Tuesday mornings she went to the supermarket for supplies and groceries. When she got back, he'd put them all away. But for right now, he set to cleaning the kitchen, which hadn't been done since breakfast because most everybody went to school after eating. It wasn't incredibly dirty- even when the resident's eating habits became messy, Shinobu was generally a very clean cook (unless Suu was helping her). He wiped down the counters and table, washing the rest of the dishes and sweeping the floor so he could mop it the next day, and then moved on to cleaning the laundry room. He took the time to fold all the dry clothes in the dryer and move the next load through- he assumed they were Kitsune's clothes since nobody else wore shorts that short.   
Sure enough, at about two Haruka marched in with several bags of groceries. She left them by the main door, and marched off to go change into her normal outfit- Kentaro got the feeling she absolutely abhorred wearing real shoes, which he found mildly amusing.   
The first bag was fruits and vegetables, and three more bottles of curry seasoning. Now he knew what was for dinner. He took his apron off before leaving the kitchen. It had indeed begun to get hot... since he wasn't scrubbing anything at the moment he didn't need the extra layer.   
Walking back out to get another bag, he heard Naru's voice trailing through the main doors, which Haruka had left ajar since the air conditioning system was on the fritz a little and the company crew couldn't make it out for another couple days. Halfway across the room, Naru bounced in the room, her book bag slung over her shoulder, and someone trailing behind her, a new face around Hinata. Kentaro paid no mind, knowing Naru wouldn't stop to think to introduce him, and it didn't matter anyways... if she did, he'd be introduced as the makeshift maid. It was less embarrassing not to bother. They were engaged in some sort of conversation, which sounded more girlish than serious.  
  
The next bag was kitchen supplies.  
  
"Wow, Naru, this is a great place!" Yura exclaimed, sounding a little more bouncy than usual. Her interests were restricted to specific things.   
"Well, it isn't the very cheapest place ever, but I wouldn't stay anywhere else." Naru replied, agreeing with Yura's statement. She sighed in relief as she dropped her bag on the floor of her room.   
"I wish my parents would let me stay in a dorm. But there's no way! They swear up and down that I'll start doing drugs and sleeping around and doing all the bad, stereotypical 'college kid' stuff. They think if they keep me imprisoned my grades won't fall."   
"Well, maybe you could convince them to let you stay here? This is an all- girls dorm." Yura gave Naru a sideways look.   
"It IS?"   
"Yeah. Well, all the residents are male anyways. Keitaro's the manager." Naru said, correcting herself.   
"Ah... but he's your boyfriend, isn't he? That guy that came to lunch with us last week?"   
"Yeah, how do you think I met him? He's Haruka's nephew."   
"You're dating your dormitory manager!! That's kinda far out. Never get an office job, Naru." Yura poked. She wasn't the closest of friends with Naru, but knew her well enough to know she wouldn't be offended. Naru knew Yura's sometimes lewd implications, odd mannerisms, and ostentatious tendencies quite well by now... and had still invited her to study together. So Yura figured Naru wasn't bothered by it. Which was a good thing.  
Naru felt herself blushing. Yura's jest wasn't out of character, but usually Naru wasn't the subject of the tease. She looked over at the girl sitting cross-legged on her floor. Yura was about as tall as Naru, but that was about the extent of similarities. Her dyed burgundy hair ran to the bottom of the girl's shoulder blades. Right now it was loosely tied back with a navy blue scrunchie. Her eyes were a deep chestnut brown, and were framed by a thin, sophisticated-looking pair of glasses. Her dress was never very feminine, but usually not an extreme. Her current outfit was a sleeveless navy blue top with a thin collar and a thin cut in the front that wouldn't have met Kitsune's approval for cleavage-boasting. Her jeans were plain and flared, with a single chain running from the front to the back on one side; the slight bulge in her back pocket giving away the fact that her also plain wallet was on one end. Her feet were bare now, but at Naru's door lay the plain Birkenstock-esque sandals- two wide leather straps complete with buckles.  
She was an interesting girl. She'd lived her childhood in Japan before she and her parents moved to Brazil. Her parents had agreed when Yura decided she wanted to go back to Japan for higher education. Not wanting the money to have any chance to go to waste, they had gone to the trouble to rent her her own small townhouse two blocks from Tokyo U's campus. Naru had met her in their economics class- Yura was a year ahead of she, Keitaro, and Mutsumi, but they had some of the same classes anyways, so Naru had invited her to study sessions, since she was the one really good friend Naru had bothered to make. It would most likely be an idea resulting in mutual academic benefits- Naru could help Yura and Keitaro with their math classes and Yura could help Naru with economics.  
"Good afternoon, Naru." A soft voice chimed from the doorway. Mutsumi had arrived, it was time to study.  
  
The hot springs. It was the one job Kentaro hated. And this one particular afternoon, it was hot. He'd left both his shirts inside and his apron off, despite the possibility of sunburn. The scrub towel hung from one of his back pockets, swaying as he made each stroke with the mop.  
"Hey. We're going to use the hot springs now, you can leave and take a break." Naru's voice wasn't harsh, but held no hint of niceties. Including the dismissal of the need to use his name. He sighed. He'd hoped to finish before this happened, but it was going to be no use actually attempting to argue with Naru. He turned around to face her, drooping one arm over the end of the mop and the other coming to hang, his palm face up, in the air beside him, shrugging.  
"Why in such a rush? What's so great about the bath, anyways? You girls might as well pick up an addiction others can enjoy." He said, making the implication rather lazily, not truly caring whether she noticed it or not.  
"Ugh. Pervert." She huffed, shoving him aside as she passed, her friend and Mutsumi following her.  
"A little joke never hurts." He said, shrugging again and speaking to nobody but himself as he scooped up the bucket and grabbed the mop, heading in. He knew the jokes were now what was left of his sense of humor, every now and then reaching out for some kind of entertainment. It never worked, of course. He'd finish the mopping tomorrow when he did the kitchen, and to make up for it, he'd go ahead and sweep the front stoop before he left after dinner. He didn't have any great meals at home, and Shinobu's cooking usually outdid any of the cheap restaurants.  
  
Yura stifled a less-than-feminine snort at the boy's remark, and followed Naru, waiting until he left to actually get into the hot springs. The day had gotten very hot and stuffy, but the clear, warm water felt refreshing on her skin anyways. She'd missed baths like this in Brazil.  
"Naru, who was that? I thought you said this was an all girls dorm?" She asked as she sat down beside Naru.  
"Oh, that's Kentaro." Naru nearly scoffed. Yura was a little surprised, she knew Naru could have a temper, but usually Naru wasn't so rude.  
"Why do you look so offended that I asked?" Yura asked to Naru.  
"He's just a washed-up rich kid, and a pervert." She replied, still with her nose proverbially in the air.  
"He works here, like Keitaro. But he doesn't live here!" Mutsumi offered helpfully. Yura noted the statement but continued with her attention on Naru.  
"Well, he didn't say anything I wouldn't have. Seems alright to me." Yura said, countering Naru with sensible reasoning, which she knew Naru would listen to more easily than an actual argument or rebuttal.  
"Yuck. Trust me, I knew him in high school." "And then he was your manager when you were a pop-star." Mutsumi offered as a reminder. "EW! Don't remind me. That creep had the media convinced we were together!" Naru complained. Yura thought for a moment. Naru seemed like she just plain didn't like him. Yura knew what 'washed-up rich kids' were, and she was one of them. Naru didn't really know that, though. She decided it best to drop the subject.  
"So, Yura, you came back to Japan from Brazil?" Mutsumi asked, breaking the short silence. Yura nodded.  
"Well gee, it must have been exciting to live in Brazil. What was it like?"  
"Yes, Yura, what is Brazil like? Is it yummy?" Trilled a silly- sounding voice, followed shortly by a huge splash. When Yura could see again, two girls had joined them in the bath- one was just stepping in, she looked almost timidly at the new face, before lightly scolding the first for splashing everyone. The other was sitting in the water six feet in front of her smiling an impossibly large smile from under pale yellow hair, her eyes brightly awaiting an answer. Yura couldn't believe it, that was a serious question?? She laughed rather heartily at the notion.  
"Hah, well, Brazil is a country. But some people like Brazil nuts, coffee, and chocolate. If you like I can have my parents send me some next time I speak with them." Yura replied, not bothered by the oddity of the question, but wondering if that would suffice as an answer.  
"Ooooh chocolate is yummy!" The girl crowed, smiling ever wider somehow. The other girl sat down.  
"Who is your friend, Naru?" She asked politely.  
"This is my friend Yura I was telling you about yesterday. Yura, this is Shinobu, and the other one is Suu."  
"That's right, we go to junior high together! Shinobu is cooking my favorite for dinner tonight!" The blonde said ecstatically, hanging on the soft-eyed, blue-haired girl.  
"I hope you like curry." Shinobu blushed.  
"Curry's great!" Yura assured her. She hadn't had curry in a while.  
  
"Not that you'd have an option if you didn't like it." A calm, tempered voice came from the doorway.  
Two more girls slipped through the sliding door. One was quite tall with short pale hair, rather careless about how her towel hung on her. The second was shorter, with long black hair in a high ponytail, and dark, intense eyes.  
"It is Motoko and Kitsune!" Suu crowed.  
"And who's this?" Kitsune asked, stepping into the bath.  
"This is Yura. Yura, this is my best friend Kitsune, and another of our residents, Motoko."  
Yura bowed with a nod of her head. She received back a small, formally respecting bow from Motoko and a casual wave of a hand from Kitsune.  
"Brazil, huh? Bet it was fun there. I've heard some good things about South American men." Kitsune winked. Now Yura knew why Naru could put up with her.  
"Eh, I wouldn't know. I lived on a plantation farm with my parents. Not really a huge social life there." Yura shrugged off the comment.  
"You mentioned calling home... your parents are still in Brazil?" Motoko asked, making polite conversation.  
"Yeah." Yura replied, not interested in offering an explanation. However, the flow of the conversation wasn't going to allow that to happen.  
"What do they do that you lived on a plantation farm?" Mutsumi queried in a bit of wonderment.  
"They farm coffee beans. In Brazil it's a very large investment, and very, very lucrative if it's successful." Yura said, a slight dark tone in her voice. She got varied responses... were coffee beans yummy; wow, cool.  
"Doesn't that mean your family is wealthy?" Mutsumi dropped the bomb, asking the question with a sort of ignorant simplicity all her own. Yura nearly winced, but knew it was best to play it off like usual- casual, sarcastic, and truthful.  
"Well, yeah. Not that it matters to me. There's a reason I came back to Japan to go to school." She leaned back, her arms behind her head, closing one eye lazily, leaving the other one slit open to look almost sardonically at Naru. This would make or break a lot of things, to see if Naru really didn't mind Yura's attitude.  
"...One might call me a washed up rich kid." She finished, her one eye studying Naru's reaction.  
Naru began to make a flustered look, then saw Yura's expression softening from sly into a grin. Naru clamped her mouth shut... she'd apologize later instead of in front of everyone.  
Yura left Naru alone, seeing that Naru obviously knew what she'd said, and that Naru knew she at least wasn't offended by it.  
Conversation drifted from Yura, to school, to a few other inane topics.  
Dinner came, and Yura sat down to a bowl of wonderful smelling curry.  
  
A few minutes of dining and an older woman came in with a boy not far behind her. The woman had on baggy, rolled up shorts, slippers, an apron, and a cigarette drooping from the corner of her mouth. She smacked a rolled stack of papers against the end of the table.  
"Alright, girls... bad news and good news." All the girls looked up to her, with the boy, whom Yura recognized as Keitaro, standing beside her. Yura decided that the woman must have been Haruka. Haruka looked around the table, and furrowed her brow upon finding Yura taking up an extra seat. She cocked an eyebrow.  
"Who're you?"  
"My name is Yura Toroka. Naru invited me over. Nice to meet you, ma'am." Yura responded, not bothering to sugar-coat her words, but making them respectably polite.  
"Oh. Okay, well, a man came to look at the air conditioning today. We found the problem- it's quirks in the system in the unused buildings in the complex. A large crew is coming to work on it Thursday and maybe Friday."  
"But the buildings are dirty and yucky!" Suu said, wrinkling her nose.  
"Could any safety hazards be present in those buildings?" Motoko asked logically.  
"You're all right. We decided that if we're going to fix the air conditioning in the buildings, we should just go ahead and fix them all the way up! There's a whole big center that isn't used that could be a sort of gym, another big lounge, and more rooms. Maybe when summer comes around we can advertise more rooms for rent. What do you all think of that?" Keitaro explained, sounding a little enthusiastic about the new idea.  
"Well... I don't suppose it could hurt. But I request that if we take in male residents that we reserve the other building for them." Motoko stated, almost in a warning tone.  
"Sounds fine to me." Kitsune shrugged.  
"Yay! More friends for me and Shinobu!" Suu chirped, clamping herself around Shinobu's shoulders as Shinobu relented a timid sounding "I don't mind."  
"Hey, Yura, maybe you could ask your parents tonight if you could live here with us!" Naru suggested cheerfully.  
"I... well... it wouldn't bother me, but what's the rush to ask them tonight? A room can't possibly be ready for me until after all the preparations and repairs have been..."  
"Oh, don't worry... if we work at cleaning, we could have a room for you by the end of the week. We'll all end up pitching in with the cleaning, anyways." Yura looked to Haruka, who shrugged.  
"It'll all be done eventually, we'll all be pitching in to help with it, so I'm sure if you do your part it'll all work out. Might even go faster. I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it's alright with everyone else."  
"It's alright with me." Keitaro said, placing his hands on his hips rather triumphantly. Everyone else mostly nodded in agreement.  
"You could stay in Sarah's room until it is ready, she is with Seta on a trip!" Suu exclaimed enthusiastically.  
Yura thought for a moment. Well, there wasn't anyone here she disliked, and it was more lively and airy than her stuffy, cramped townhouse. That meant it wouldn't stink of her parents presence as much. And staying in Sarah's room... whoever she was... would keep her from having to make trips to three locations each day. After this moment's hesitated contemplation, she smiled happily for the eight pairs of eyes looking at her.  
"That's very kind of you all. Thank you very much, I appreciate it."  
  
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Okay, so although I don't consider myself any sort of novice writer, this does happen to be my first fanfic. Couple author's notes:  
  
-Yes, I'm aware that I said 'Masda'. Well, that's what it is. If you don't believe me, look in Love Hina again, at the part where Kanako and naru argue at the beach and Keitaro drives up and finds the real Kentaro tied up in his own trunk... they show a good shot of the back of the car and it clearly says 'Mazda'... with a backwards 'z'. So, Masda. I'm pretty sure it's a Miata rip.  
  
-Although I haven't been so anal as to search through my dvd's and count out exactly how many buildings Hinata has, it's more than one, and one is all that is ever implied to be used. So I decided to make use of the apparently existent but never mentioned other parts of the complex.  
  
-I have no idea why I began writing about Kentaro. I just did. While I like Kentaro, I will agree with anyone who tells me that the idea is kind of left-field. I suppose I feel since he's a severely underdeveloped character, I have more room to develop him without contradicting the series.  
  
-I also don't really know why I put in Yura. I want opinions on that. And on the idea of more. Although, I feel like if I put in any other new characters it should be a male. I don't know where I'm going with who or what, my ears are open to reader suggestions, but this is intended to end up a drama/romance, possibly comedy. I also don't know if I should include other character perspectives, right now I've only (besides Kentaro and Yura) used Naru briefly, so if you think I should or have ideas for using others please feel free to speak up.  
  
Tell me what you think, pleasing readers is good. I have chapter 2, but I'm tempted not to post until I've received some good feedback.  
  
Tarauka 


	2. II: Encounters On The Veranda

Love Hina: After The Story Ends   
Chapter 2  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina.  
  
This fic has a rating of R (just in case), which is reserved for possible future language, drug references, and detailed sexual situations.  
  
Okay, now that I have my two little disclaimers out of the way, hi everyone! I had this chapter (and the next) ready, and hadn't planned on posting at least this one until I got at least a couple of reviews. But then I realized that I myself have skipped over fics just because they only had one chapter up, so I can't expect that nobody will do that. So that's why this chapter is up now.   
  
Alright, so here's the general layout of my chapters- up here I'll babble or comment for a bit, and below I will add in my own comments after the chapter and respond to my reviewers, so if that's what you're looking for, scroll down.  
  
For your amusement (and mine) I will be invoking muses now! That's right, my very own muses! Hehehe. Hopefully I can make this as amusing as the other authors I've seen do this, but since I'm not usually to terribly witty unless I'm being bitter, I'm not sure. Ah well. They'll be a little OOC because they're muses, but everyone, meet my own original characters, Seth and Xel.  
  
Xel- Hey. ::gives the 'sup?' nod::   
Seth- Hello! ::waves::  
  
Me- This is a temp job for them, I had too many anime characters to choose from so I asked them to come. They may or may not stay, we'll see.  
  
Xel- Since when are you so cheery?  
  
Me- Since I'm writing, you arse. I think I made you too damn sarcastic.  
  
Xel- Really? I never noticed. Maybe you should be more careful before you invoke your own characters as muses... it might be considered talking to yourself. You do that enough already.  
  
Me- ::sweatdrop::  
  
Seth- Xel, I'd be careful... she did create us. Bad things could happen if you make her mad.  
  
Xel- As IF they aren't ALREADY happening.  
  
Seth- I was trying to ignore that...  
  
Me- Careful guys, one of you might jinx yourself.  
  
Seth- Agreed. I'll do the honors, if you all don't mind.  
  
Xel- Knock yourself out.   
Me- I don't mind at all.  
  
Seth- Very well then, here starts chapter two!  
  
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Haruka told him about the upcoming renovations while he sat on the couch, eating his bowl of curry and rice. It was probably going to be a lot of work, but it wouldn't be so bad. If they all were putting their whole weekend into it, it would be done for the most part by Monday.   
So he'd gotten there early and stayed somewhat late, having his regular chores done by Wednesday night. Thursday he was there bright and early, following the crew of workers in to begin cleaning. One by one as they returned from classes, the residents began pitching in. The two other buildings weren't as big as the main one, and by the end of the day the whole first floor of the first building, which they decided to turn into a sort of gym area, was clean, the floor freshly washed and polished, the rubbish and ratty old furniture thrown out.   
The hour after dinner brought him back to the large veranda, which he was about halfway done mopping. Hearing people at one of the two sliding doors, he only glanced up, noting that it was only Naru, Keitaro, and the girl from the day before.   
"Good evening, Kentaro!" Keitaro called. He was never unfriendly, but usually never went out of his way to speak to Kentaro. Kentaro straightened from his stooping position, rose to throw back a casual greeting. Naru, of course, wasn't so friendly. She made a small 'hmph' noise, crossing her arms and stopping in her tracks until Keitaro noticed she was displeased with something he'd said, which he did very quickly.   
"Huh... what'd I say?" Keitaro wondered absently and a little sulkily. Naru made a face, and leaned to say something hushed to Keitaro, giving a rather irritated glance over at Kentaro as she spoke. Kentaro just rolled his eyes and moved to go back to mopping. Keitaro's laugh caught his attention, however.   
"Hah, aw, Naru... you said the same thing about me, you know!"   
"I thought so." The girl standing by them finally spoke up, sounding almost cocky.   
"Thought WHAT?" Naru shouted in frustration, challenging the statement before she really thought.   
"You've just got your panties in a twist over something. Don't get so wrapped up about it, I doubt he bites." The girl reasoned in the same sort of casual tone and manner which was characteristic to himself... although coming from him, it usually only served to anger Naru further. Not needing to hear or see the rest, He bent over, dunking the mop's brush into the bucket of water and swishing it about in preparation for more washing. But into his vision along the wood panel deck floor scuffed a pair of sandaled feet.   
He stopped, stood, and cocked an eyebrow at the girl. She ignored his expression.   
"Your name is Kentaro, right?" She stood, hands on her hips.   
"That's me." He shifted his weight onto his left leg, letting the mop rest for a moment longer in the bucket.   
"I'm Yura." It wasn't a curtsy or a nice to meet you, but instead, she boldly held out her hand for a shake. He looked at her hand, his eyebrow rising a bit higher, before looking back to her, breaking into a chuckle, and shaking her hand.   
"Nice to meet you, Yura." He broke the shake, moving to swing his mop to meet the floor, sopping wet. "Excuse me, but I haven't finished this floor yet." "Alright." She said simply. A short pause of silence brought her next words, which were peculiar in his ears. "We'll help you."  
"Come on you guys!" She shouted. He looked up. She had turned back around to face the door, motioning to Keitaro, Naru, and Kitsune and Mutsumi, who were emerging from the doorway. "We're going to finish this floor before nightfall." The veranda ran almost all the way along the side of the building to look down a small incline. Mopping need to be finished and then it needed polishing.  
Naru only looked rather perturbed, still crossing her arms. Kitsune and Mutsumi ignored her, moving past with another bucket and more mops and towels. Kentaro watched, mostly nonplussed. This phenomenon was altogether strange, until he remembered they were all supposed to be pitching in anyways.  
"Oh, come on Naru!" Keitaro smiled, cheerfully pulling at Naru's wrist.  
"Oh, alright, alright. Give me a towel." Naru finally gave in, content to forget about Kentaro entirely and focus on her boyfriend's request instead. Not abnormal, of course.  
With all of their help, he was surprised to find it all done in a rather short time. He'd spoken a few times, giving polishing tips and instructing when asked a question, but mostly the conversation was limited between the others.  
But when all was said and done, he bent to pick up two of the buckets and three of the mops, with the intention of putting away all of the equipment before heading home.  
A familiar pair of feet stepped in front of him as he went to pick up the second bucket.  
"Yes?" He asked.  
"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" This question puzzled him, his position was none that included any sort of leadership. He stumbled, his eyes widening the slightest at the odd question.  
"Ah... well... the second floor is mostly rooms like the main building. More floors to mop and polish, the rooms need dusting and vacuuming and clearing out. I've already cleaned the catwalks." He paused, resuming his former mildly amused look. This... Yura, it was... was entirely unfazed by his attitude, or his comments, he remembered. She was certainly interesting, he decided. "How come?" He asked.  
"Because I wanted to know what we'll be helping you with." She said matter-of-factly, almost as if it were a stupid question, as she turned to pick up the bucket he'd been reaching for.  
"See you tomorrow." She said over her shoulder as she left with the bucket, leaving him no time to argue. The others had already made their exits.  
He dismissed the peculiarity of the exchange, deciding it best that he not worry about it. He should make it home if he was going to get up early the next day.  
  
Yura went to the room they'd shown her, stepping into the bathroom to rinse off in the shower before putting something more comfortable on- baggy, boy-like shorts and a t-shirt, which was what she had brought with her in case Naru asked her to spend the night. She left what she could untouched, not wanting to mess much with someone else's room.  
She poked her head into Naru's room, not bothering to knock first since the door was ajar. Naru was studying some more, which didn't surprise Yura in the least.  
"Naru, I'm going to go get some of my things, and pack enough to be here until Monday. I'll be back." Naru looked over her shoulder long enough to smile back an 'alright' before turning back to her equation. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she turned towards the stairs.  
  
Kentaro made it home, and washed up. Usually he showered in the morning, but with all the work he'd be doing the next day it didn't matter. Rifling through the cupboard above the stove, he found nothing really to eat. Sighing, he remembered he needed to go out and get more toothpaste and shaving cream, anyways. Grabbing his keys from the key hook in the kitchen, he slipped on flip-flops and headed out to the car; the supermarket wasn't closed yet.  
Pulling out of his one-car driveway, he made his way through the nearly entirely empty streets. Traffic wasn't heavy around here, particularly this time of night.  
Rounding a corner, he spotted someone... drawing closer he was almost amused to find it was Yura, her back to him, walking down the street. He paused, why he didn't know; he'd even offered Naru lifts before. Pulling up as quietly as a car can go, he came to a stop parallel to Yura on his side of the street, honking the horn.  
She stopped, turned towards him, squinted, and pulled her glasses from where they were hooked on the collar of her shirt. Once on, she gave an amused smirk at recognition of him, immediately followed by a surprised look. Sauntering over, she stood at the corner of his car, eyeing it.  
"Well, well- look who's got himself a hot little car." She said, standing to look back at him, not caring in the least that she was still standing in the street.  
"...Yeah. You looked like you might appreciate a ride somewhere." He said, skipping over the subject of his car. Yura shrugged.  
"Sure, why not. What's the catch?" She asked sarcastically as she made her way around to the passenger side.  
"You'll have to endure ten minutes of me running in to the supermarket, but other than that, nothing." He replied.  
"Hah... supermarket... fun." She said, slumping into the seat, shutting the door behind her.  
"So Kentaro has a Masda. What else does Kentaro have?" She mused after moments, sarcastically masking small talk. She wasn't hard to understand, just... unusual.  
"A job. A house. A wardrobe." He replied nonchalantly.  
"I see. I noticed the job part. So, you know Naru from High School?"  
"Hah... yeah, you could say that." He huffed a despondent chuckle.  
"What's that mean?" She asked, noticing his scoff.  
"Well, I introduced myself to her rather forwardly at the end of senior year. As you may have guessed, she didn't take too fondly too me." He explained casually. "Well, yeah. What I didn't guess was that she used to be a pop star, or that you used to be her manager. So there's more to both of you than I would've thought." She wasn't much for beating around the bush.  
"Hah, well, that was a failed business attempt after her temper got the media's attention. It's a good thing I didn't go bankrupt from it."  
"But it left you back here at square one, didn't it?" He was a little inwardly taken aback. He nodded.  
"I see." Yura said.  
She waited patiently the ten minutes it took for him to grab lunch meat, cheese, bread, toothpaste, and three apples from the grocer.  
After directing him, they pulled into a townhouse complex on the edge of Tokyo U's campus. Yura's was crammed onto the end of the row; they were obviously meant to be third-party student housing by the size.  
Taking a set of keys from her pocket, she unlocked the door. The front hallway was lined on the right by a stairway and on the left by a doorway to a small kitchen, and continued in front to a small room where he could spy a washing machine and dryer through the open door.  
It was dim and cool inside. It didn't have a scent. Kentaro had always noticed a particular scent about any given residence, it almost defined the uniqueness of them. But none was here... all he could see was stark and clean. It was as if no one lived here. She invited him to fix his dinner with his groceries in the kitchen, she excused herself to go upstairs to pack and to make a phone call.  
Yura hadn't bothered to turn on any lights, so he fumbled for the switch as he walked into the room. The result revealed in the room a bare table with only two chairs at it, placed near each other, as if Yura propped her feet in one and sat in the other. The counters were clean and bare, the sink was empty. An open cabinet revealed nearly no dishware, just enough for one person. "She must not have a roommate," Kentaro thought, setting the sandwich makings on the counter. Fumbling around in drawers, he found silverware in the second one he tried. It occurred to him that it might be considered rude to rifle through her things, so before he looked for the mayonnaise he decided he'd ask.  
Coming up the stairs, he couldn't help but catch the conversation.  
"Mom, I'm not. Yes, I got my astronomy grade up. To a B! What? Why can't I... it's a dormitory. It's all girls. My friend Naru stays there, I'm tutoring her for econ and she's helping me with my math course... no, she's a first-year. Yeah, she's pretty smart." Kentaro stopped at the door when Yura fell silent, he thought it the wiser to not interfere with the phone conversation.  
"Okay. I'll page you the number and you can call Haruka. Yes, Haruka and her cousin own and manage the complex. No, mom, Keitaro is a Tokyo U student, too. Are you kidding, he goes to school AND manages a dormitory, would you have time for anything else? His grandmother owns the complex. Yes. Alright. No, not right away, everybody's pitching in to clean up an unused building before I'll actually have my own room. I can email you the address. Okay? Alright, mom, I will... okay, bye." Kentaro frowned. It sounded like it took a lot of convincing for her mother to let her stay in an all-girls dormitory, which to him seemed very strange. Waiting a few moments, he knocked on the doorframe of the open door, catching her attention. Yura looked up from a dresser drawer. Her room was the same stark walls and white carpet, a very plain bed and a plain dresser, a small closet in the corner had its white doors closed. A door was open, a light from the bathroom on the other side shining into the room. It only had a few things on the floor, but was otherwise clean. A cd walkman, a textbook, a shirt, a hairbrush, and, of course, the bag Yura was packing.  
"I was wondering where, or if, you kept mayonnaise?" He asked. She blinked for a moment.  
"Ah, yeah, I'll show you once I'm done. Not too much longer. You wanna see the rest of the place?" She asked, stuffing a last stack of clothes into a half-filled black duffel bag, which she slung over her shoulder. He couldn't tell if she really thought he was interested or whether she was only being polite or making idle conversation. He shrugged. "Sure."  
"Well, there's not much to it. You've seen downstairs and my room, the bathroom opens to my room and the hallway, and the second bedroom I turned into my study." She said, moving past him down the small hallway and opening the closed door to her study. A desk sat in the middle, two sets of standing shelves held books, cd's, and videos. A short, long wooden table held a rather fancy stereo and a TV/VCR. The desk held a laptop. Along the rest of the wall were a rather simple keyboard, a small amp, and a rack holding a case which Kentaro could only guess contained some sort of stringed instrument. He looked around the room slowly as he waited for her. She stuffed into the bag a cell phone and its charger, another textbook and a couple cd's, then shoved the laptop into a corresponding carrier. Hoisting both up, she marched out of the room. "Would you like help with that?" He offered as she huffed past.  
"Nope." She answered, already at the stairs. He followed her as she dropped both bags in the front hallway and then led him back into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, she bent to take out and hand him the jar of mayonnaise.  
"Do you want a drink?" She asked, looking up from the open door. Not knowing exactly what she was asking, Kentaro decided to give a specific answer instead of a yes or no; he drank at times but never when he was driving.  
"I'll take some water, thank you." She said, looking up from the sandwich he was fixing. "Would you like a sandwich?" He asked out of polite habit.  
"No thanks." She said, grabbing a canned green tea out of the refrigerator and moving to fix him a glass of water.  
He sat down with his sandwich, taking his time to eat it. Yura followed suit, pulling the second chair around to the other side of the table and plunking herself into it with the can and a small bag of chips.  
"So you don't have a roommate?" Kentaro asked. Courtesy called for idle conversation.  
"Nope. Mom doesn't want me to have one. Took convincing to get her to let me switch to an all-girls dorm." She said, looking more interested in her chips than in the answer to his question.  
"That seems backwards." He pointed, deciding that if she were so forward in nature she shouldn't mind such a question.  
"That's 'cause it is. My parents are nutso, if you ask me." She replied, coaxing the last crumbs in the bag out. Kentaro took a last bite of his sandwich, and gulped down his water. Yura tossed the old bag into the trash can with lazy accuracy, and then went to the hallway while he put his empty glass and plate in the sink.  
Yura was already out the door, dumping the two bags into the quite small backseat of his car. He headed out after her, sitting himself behind the wheel again. Yura went to the door and instead of locking it went back inside. She emerged again with the instrument case slung over her back, and, after locking the door behind her, returned with it to the car.  
Kentaro navigated his way back to Hinata, dropping Yura off at the bottom of the long staircase. Feeling he didn't know her well enough to argue with her over the load she was carrying, he watched her, carrying three rather large bags, start up the rather long stone staircase. He shook his head. There was something very... intriguing about her, indeed. He needed to get home and to bed.  
  
==========================================  
  
Me-Thus endeth chapter two. What do you think?  
  
Xel- It was slow.  
  
Seth- I'm afraid I have to agree.  
  
Me- Okay, I know. But it was necessary... even if it fit well I wouldn't feel right about randomly skipping through time. Besides, stuff actually beginning to happen to Kentaro is going to be a slow process anyways, or it would only seem abrupt.  
  
Seth- Very true.  
  
Xel- Hah... Yura doesn't seem slow to me.  
  
Seth- Oh my.  
  
Me- Damn, did I put a mouth on you. Well, we'll see what happens with who... not much is set in stone at this point. I call upon the power of the reviewers! Instill me with your input!  
  
::cricket cricket::  
  
Xel- Yeah, so, before you make more of an ass out of yourself, why don't we go ahead and respond to the reviewers. ::I hang my head in the background::  
  
Seth- Very well, although, that's reviewER... not plural.  
  
Me- Yes, well, hopefully that will change. Just read.  
  
Seth- Alright. Ahem.  
"Niak- Thank you! I like your fic. As for the whole marriage deal... well... I haven't read the manga and I just couldn't make Keitaro MARRY anyone. I mean, what happened to life? Plus this fic, at this point, doesn't focus so much on Keitaro anyways, so there's no room or point for it.  
As for Kentaro... I'm not huge on OOCness, because I have a high respect for how characters were made to be, but Kentaro's development in the series is very little, so I had a lot of room to work with. That'll also tell you why I have an original character in there, and more to come. I have all of what happened within him logically worked out, too (which you could classify as either pathetic or being prepared... depends on your point of view). Kentaro and Yura both will be explained quite a bit more in chapters to come... oddly enough, it's the Love Hina original characters I'm not sure what to do with. Right now the only one that could call for a lot of input is Naru... we might see some Haruka, too. Not sure." ::Seth finally takes a breath::  
  
Xel- Damn dude. Tarauka, that was a freakin long comment.  
  
Me- Well, yeah. So sue me... I only had one reviewer, and reviews that actually say something about the story are worth me saying stuff back to. ::sticks out tongue::  
  
Xel- How old are you again?  
  
Me- Oh shut up.  
  
Seth- ::stifles chuckle::


End file.
